Mode 18 · Machine danger zones
Personnel detection in hazardous machinery zones
Mode 18 watches the full danger zone around a machine, not just the opening a light curtain protects. When a person is detected in the zone you draw, ISEE-CAM sends a signal to the machine's PLC or safety relay so the machine can be held, and drives sirens or beacons for people nearby. It is an extra detection layer for presses, robot cells, stretch wrappers and test areas.
- Detects people up to 25 m
- Covers the whole zone, not one plane
- Works with your safety PLC
How a camera detects people in a machine danger zone
Light curtains, scanners and interlocked doors protect the points a designer expected people to use. Accidents often start elsewhere: a maintenance worker climbing in behind a press, someone stepping over a low fence into a robot cell, a person still inside a wrapper when the cycle restarts, a technician walking into a cable test area. Mode 18 looks at the whole area and reports anyone inside it.
01 · Zone
Danger zone drawn around the machine
02 · Trigger
Person detected anywhere inside the zone
03 · Outputs
- Hold or stop signal to the PLC
- Siren, beacon or floor projection
- Event log and e-mail notification
Step 1
See the whole danger zone
ISEE-CAM is mounted so it sees the machine and the space around it, and its on-device model detects people up to 25 m away. In the web interface you draw the zone as a polygon that follows the real hazard: the press bed and the area behind it, the robot's reach, the wrapper's turntable.
Step 2
Decide only when it matters
The camera's input can arm the detection only while the machine is running or a test is live, so normal loading between cycles does not raise alarms. Once armed, any person inside the zone changes the output state. Custom algorithms, for example for a foreign object left in the zone, can be developed on request.
Step 3
Hand the signal to the safety system
Three dry-contact outputs go to the PLC or safety relay and to sirens, beacons or projectors. The output stays active while a person is in the zone, so the machine's own logic can keep it from starting. Alert-to-output latency is under 100 ms, and events feed daily, weekly and monthly reports.
Field footage
Person detection at a cement bunker discharge
Keeping people away from a bunker while a loader dumps
The camera looks across a bunker at a cement plant's quarry. Two zones are drawn: a green one along the bunker edge and a red one over the bunker itself. A worker standing at the edge is boxed and counted on the left of the screen while a wheel loader tips material in. The same logic applies to crushers and silo openings, where nobody should be near the opening during discharge.
Machines and areas where Mode 18 adds a detection layer
Press lines
Hydraulic and mechanical presses already have light curtains at the front. Mode 18 watches the sides, the rear and the die-change area, where a person can stand without breaking the curtain, and sends a hold signal to the press PLC.
Robot cells
A camera inside a robot cage covers a blind spot behind the fence. In multi-door robot cages, people entering are counted so the cell is not restarted while someone is still inside.
Stretch wrappers and conveyors
Operators step onto the turntable to fix a film break or reach into a conveyor to clear a jam. Mode 18 reports a person in the wrapping or conveyor zone before the next cycle, as on a steel plant's conveyor line.
High-voltage test areas and service bays
Cable test areas must stay empty while voltage is applied, so the input arms detection only during the test. In automotive service bays, the cameras see people under vehicle lifts and control the lift with an audible warning.
Danger zone detection specifications
- Detection target
- People; custom objects (e.g., foreign objects) on request
- Detection range
- Up to 25 m from the camera
- Zones
- Polygons drawn in the web interface, adjustable by your team
- Inputs and outputs
- 1 input to arm detection, 3 dry-contact outputs; OPC-UA, Modbus TCP, REST API
- Response
- Alert-to-output latency under 100 ms, processed on the device, no cloud
- Reporting
- Daily, weekly and monthly reports, e-mail notifications
- Housing
- IP69K, −20 to +70 °C, DC 12–24 V, ISO 16750-3 vibration rated
Before you add camera detection to a machine
- ISEE-CAM is not a certified safety device; no SIL or PL rating is stated. It adds a detection layer wired with the light curtains, scanners, interlocks and safety PLC, never in place of them.
- Restart and reset stay with the machine's safety logic; the camera only tells the PLC a person is in the zone.
- A mounting point with a clear view of the whole zone. Fixtures, stacked material or the machine itself can hide a person, so we plan the position from photos or a site survey.
- Wiring into the control cabinet by a qualified electrician, following your risk assessment.
Camera detection vs. light curtains, scanners and mats
Safety-rated devices remain the core of machine guarding; a camera adds coverage around them.
| Method | Covers | Gap |
|---|---|---|
| Light curtain | A defined opening, as a safety-rated device | Only its own plane; a person beside or behind it is not seen |
| Safety laser scanner | A flat field near the floor, safety-rated | Raised platforms, pits and areas hidden by fixtures |
| Pressure mat | People standing on the mat | Anyone who steps around or over it |
| ISEE-CAM Mode 18 | Any person anywhere in a drawn zone up to 25 m | Not safety-rated; needs line of sight to the zone |
Questions & Answers
Frequently asked questions
Can ISEE-CAM replace the light curtain on my press?
No. Light curtains, scanners and interlocks are the machine's safety devices and stay in place; ISEE-CAM has no stated SIL or PL rating. Its job is to see the areas those devices do not cover, such as the sides and rear of a press, and pass that to the PLC as an additional condition.
How does the camera connect to the machine?
Through dry-contact outputs wired into the PLC or safety relay, or over OPC-UA, Modbus TCP or a REST API. A second output can drive a siren or beacon, and the input can arm detection only while the machine runs. Your electrician decides where the signal enters the control logic.
Will it stop the machine every time an operator loads a part?
Not if the zone and the arming input match your process. The zone covers the area that is dangerous during motion, and the input activates detection only during the cycle or test. Normal loading outside that window does not trigger the output.
Can one camera cover a whole robot cell?
Often yes, because people are detected up to 25 m away. Tall robots, racks or fixtures can hide part of a cell, so some cells need a second camera. We decide this from a layout and photos before quoting.
Plan a tailored deployment
Send us the machine type, a layout of the danger zone and a few photos or a short video of the area around it. We will propose the camera position, the zones and how the signal should reach your PLC.